News came down Monday afternoon about the results of Steph Curry’s MRI on the right MCL sprain he suffered in Sunday’s game 4 victory over the Houston Rockets.
The Golden State Warriors franchise and fans, sports books, the basketball world and the sports world in general waited with bated breath and fear that the best player in the world would be done for the postseason and robbed of the opportunity of leading the Warriors to establishing themselves as the greatest team in NBA history.
Results finally broke about Curry’s prognosis, a grade-one MCL sprain that will be re-evaluated by doctors in two weeks.
Vertical Sources: Steph Curry's MRI on knee has returned negative, no damage, a Grade 1 sprain. Could miss two weeks.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) April 25, 2016
This is the best possible news that Curry, the Warriors and the NBA Playoffs in general could have received as many feared Curry could be done for the postseason which may have been a disaster for the Warriors chances to win the NBA title.
Curry tweeted his relief of the tests and shared his appreciation for all of the support.
Thanks 4 all the prayers & messages. Can feel all the positive energy. God is Great! All things considered I’m Gonna be alright! #DubNation
— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) April 25, 2016
What This Means for the Warriors Moving Forward
Steph Curry missing at least two weeks means missing anywhere from two games to the entire second round series against either the Los Angeles Clippers or Portland Trail Blazers.
If the Clippers can win the next two games and close out the Blazers on Wednesday, more than likely the same night the Warriors will eliminate the Rockets, a prospective start date for the Warriors-Clippers series could be Saturday, which would mean Curry missing a bare minimum of four games in their second round series.
This could open the door for the Clippers to have an opportunity to gain an advantage in the series before Curry’s return.
If the Blazers beat the Clippers tonight and tie the series at two games apiece, that would mean the series would last until at least Friday, with the real potential of going 7 games and ending on Sunday. If that were the case, it’s possible Steph Curry could manage to miss only a few games in the Warriors-Clippers series with the Warriors having those first two games at Oracle Arena where they were 39-2 this season.
It’s important to note though that this prognosis just states that they will re-evaluate the status of his knee in two weeks, there is no guarantee that Curry will recover as quickly as that time frame and be back on the court in exactly two weeks. It could mean him missing the entire second round series or even part of a hypothetical conference finals with the Spurs or Thunder if the Warriors were to advance without him, which would put the Warriors at a huge disadvantage. There is also no guarantee Curry will have the same level of quickness, stamina and change of pace ability immediately upon return which could affect his effectiveness.
Ultimately, it’s hard to really know how big of an affect this injury will have on the 2016 NBA playoffs and the Warriors specifically, as there are a lot of factors at play.
All we know for sure is that Steph Curry should be back this postseason with a chance to lead his Warriors to history which is a huge relief and a win for everybody. But the door is now ajar for the rest of the postseason’s elite to take down the formidable favorite which should make for an even more interesting postseason, stay tuned.
